Cleaned out mom's home...what to do with all the crystal and china??

[Anonymous]

PP 13:18. I should start a blog and really have plans to become a professional organizer as I transition out of my office-based career.

That said: some light reading for us all re: china.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-china-millennials-inherit-1.4539104

[Anonymous]

I donate a lot of things. I consider it my main act of charity. Nice things. I send them off with a hope and a prayer that they will find a new owner, bring joy to a new owner.

I think the overall issue of: control and maximizing outcomes, gets in the way for many people. I didn't do all this donating when I was younger and financially strapped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I called thrift shops to see if they were interested in my grandmother’s china. Once I found a place, I took it right over and donated it. It makes me happy to think that someone who needed it was able to purchase it and hopefully uses it with joy. The alternative would have been storing it it in my basement, gathering dust.

I would be hesitant to pass this on to other people who don't need lead poisoning.

https://dustyoldthing.com/lead-vintage-dishes/

Because you'd rather eat and drink from newer dishes sold at Crate and Barrel etc and made in China?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I donate a lot of things. I consider it my main act of charity. Nice things. I send them off with a hope and a prayer that they will find a new owner, bring joy to a new owner.

I think the overall issue of: control and maximizing outcomes, gets in the way for many people. I didn't do all this donating when I was younger and financially strapped.

For me it’s the emotional connection - my mom loved her china. If some random stranger left me china in their will, I’d donate it to Goodwill without a second thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could drive it to replacements ltd in NC and see what they would buy. Unfortunately, you get people don’t want this. My great-grandparents had three different sets of China and Crystal for 24. My mom has held onto it. No one wants it.

What would be nice is if there were a crystal and china trading club. I just donated a lot to a random charity because I had no practical way to move it 1,500 miles. But I like that stuff and would have found space for it if it weren’t so fragile.

It would be great if a house swap service would offer a tableware swap section.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mother kept a set of Lenox china her aunt had collected over the years because it was pretty and it cost a lot (at the time).

When she downsized, she had no room for it. My research found absolutely no one wants gold-rimmed (has to be hand washed) dishware with flowers on it anymore.

I told her to choose one or two pieces to remember her aunt by and toss the rest.

I’m Gen X and use those kinds of plates, purchased from thrift shops for about $1 each, for Passover Seders. I’m sure it will come back in vogue and that I’ll be very sorry about all of the other, inherited tableware that I donated. But, on the other hand, a lot of the inherited stuff was in wonderful shape because it hadn’t been used often, if ever, since my grandmother was married, in 1930. So, a lot of that stuff wasn’t especially useful even in 1935.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It might be nice to find some organizations that help resettle refugees. After everything they’ve been through they would probably appreciate some fancy stuff!

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of my favorite glasses came from a lovely neighbor who had a piece of Waterford on her kitchen counter that I admired and referred to by the name of the pattern. I said it was the pattern I really liked when we were registering for wedding presents (137 years ago, obviously) but that my mother talked me out of, saying the groom ought to get to pick out something. (Mom had chosen the sterling and the China, but that’s another story).

She gave me a set of the wine glasses and old fashioned glasses; she was desperately trying to rehome stuff she inherited from her mother in law.

I treasure these now!

So, OP if it’s Colleen you have, I’m sure we can work something out!

OP here. I just looked up Colleen and unfortunately my patterns are different.

You can make mix different patterns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dealing with this now. I’m 55 and married for over 25 years. DH and I think were the last generation to actually register for china.

We just did a kitchen renovation that involved emptying and donating our china cabinet (a 1965 huge piece of furniture from my grandmother). DH and I decided that we are ready for a change and displaying china looked old-fashioned and was literally collecting dust.

We hauled the cabinet to a local thrift store where it was tagged for $100 and sold within two days.

I Amazoned zippered china storage protectors and stored our wedding china atop a new kitchen cabinet.

I did use out china at Thanksgiving and Christmas and…unceremoniously ran all thru my dishwasher! Perfectly fine!

My MIL has inherited 2 complete sets of china and wants to give to us. We don’t want these. Neither does our 22DD.

Here’s what I’d do, OP: pack up all and deceiver to a smaller thrift charity shop. Get a tax receipt and claim value of ? $300
and be done with it all.

Replacements route isn’t worth the shipping cost and legwork.
Neither is consigning. Same deal: it either won’t sell or after a great deal of effort on your part you’re going to get a measly check and whatever doesn’t seek will be either have to be returned to you or you’ll agree to have it donated by the consignment shop.

+1. There is usually a China and Crystal setting on dishwashers.

[Anonymous]

OP, I went through something similar recently, although it was out own crystal and china that my mother convinced (I would never say browbeat) us into registering for. We never use it - we moved 7 years ago, and it's still in boxes in the basement. Here's what we did, and what I recommend:

1. Contact Replacements.com or similar websites to see if they'll buy it, and if so, what they'll pay.
2. Look at those same websites and see what they're selling those items for. Be sure to print out the prices.
3. Figure what makes sense to sell, and what makes sense to donate (using the retail prices as the deductible amount if you donate it). For example, they's have purchased my cups and saucers for $2 per piece, but were selling them for $32. Those got donated.
4. Determine what you want to keep, if anything, that you will use. We kept a couple pof platters form our china and agreed that we'd use them as regular casual platters, including putting them in the dishwasher. If they break, so be it.
5. Sell what you have decided to, and do something fun with the money.
6. Bring the rest to Goodwill. Be sure to get receipts for it, and be sure to keep the printouts showing the retail pieces you are donating. In all likelihood, for service for 12, you'll end up with a few thousand dollars to write off on your taxes (assuming you itemize) and a couple hundred bucks to go out to dinner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dealing with this now. I’m 55 and married for over 25 years. DH and I think were the last generation to actually register for china.

We just did a kitchen renovation that involved emptying and donating our china cabinet (a 1965 huge piece of furniture from my grandmother). DH and I decided that we are ready for a change and displaying china looked old-fashioned and was literally collecting dust.

We hauled the cabinet to a local thrift store where it was tagged for $100 and sold within two days.

I Amazoned zippered china storage protectors and stored our wedding china atop a new kitchen cabinet.

I did use out china at Thanksgiving and Christmas and…unceremoniously ran all thru my dishwasher! Perfectly fine!

My MIL has inherited 2 complete sets of china and wants to give to us. We don’t want these. Neither does our 22DD.

Here’s what I’d do, OP: pack up all and deceiver to a smaller thrift charity shop. Get a tax receipt and claim value of ? $300
and be done with it all.

Replacements route isn’t worth the shipping cost and legwork.
Neither is consigning. Same deal: it either won’t sell or after a great deal of effort on your part you’re going to get a measly check and whatever doesn’t seek will be either have to be returned to you or you’ll agree to have it donated by the consignment shop.

This is really undervaluing the set (probably). With an hour's worth of work printing out prices online, you can increase that tenfold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I called thrift shops to see if they were interested in my grandmother’s china. Once I found a place, I took it right over and donated it. It makes me happy to think that someone who needed it was able to purchase it and hopefully uses it with joy. The alternative would have been storing it it in my basement, gathering dust.

I would be hesitant to pass this on to other people who don't need lead poisoning.

https://dustyoldthing.com/lead-vintage-dishes/

That is a scary website. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dealing with this now. I’m 55 and married for over 25 years. DH and I think were the last generation to actually register for china.

We just did a kitchen renovation that involved emptying and donating our china cabinet (a 1965 huge piece of furniture from my grandmother). DH and I decided that we are ready for a change and displaying china looked old-fashioned and was literally collecting dust.

We hauled the cabinet to a local thrift store where it was tagged for $100 and sold within two days.

I Amazoned zippered china storage protectors and stored our wedding china atop a new kitchen cabinet.

I did use out china at Thanksgiving and Christmas and…unceremoniously ran all thru my dishwasher! Perfectly fine!

My MIL has inherited 2 complete sets of china and wants to give to us. We don’t want these. Neither does our 22DD.

Here’s what I’d do, OP: pack up all and deceiver to a smaller thrift charity shop. Get a tax receipt and claim value of ? $300
and be done with it all.

Replacements route isn’t worth the shipping cost and legwork.
Neither is consigning. Same deal: it either won’t sell or after a great deal of effort on your part you’re going to get a measly check and whatever doesn’t seek will be either have to be returned to you or you’ll agree to have it donated by the consignment shop.

This is really undervaluing the set (probably). With an hour's worth of work printing out prices online, you can increase that tenfold.

PP quoted and I’m certainly not a tax expert. The thrift store will likely NOT sell a huge china collection quickly unless and until it’s marked way down pr eventually sold individually for a few dollars a piece. My random $300 would be a generous, honest estimate of valuation but no thrift store will actually sell an entire collection and/or list and/sell it for $300. Of course, there are rare exceptions.

I’m a thrift store hobbyist and have been for decades. In fact, I’ll be making my second run of a carload of donations in as many days. This thread has inspired me to donate unused/forgotten items that have become clutter. Yes, things I’ve purchased at thrift stores for sentimental reasons (childhood toy, old books) and souvenir items from my grandparents of places I’ve never visited)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I called thrift shops to see if they were interested in my grandmother’s china. Once I found a place, I took it right over and donated it. It makes me happy to think that someone who needed it was able to purchase it and hopefully uses it with joy. The alternative would have been storing it it in my basement, gathering dust.

I would be hesitant to pass this on to other people who don't need lead poisoning.

https://dustyoldthing.com/lead-vintage-dishes/

That is a scary website. Wow.

So now take a look at the china and glassware and coffee mugs you're using from China.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just use it if you find it pretty. Run it in the dishwasher until it fails and that is that.

Use it on Sundays to remember Mom. Run it in the dishwasher. If something breaks don't worry about it. I figure each plate of china is worth about a dollar or two.

Have a glass of wine in the Waterford. Use the Waterford as your water glasses at dinner. Enjoy the sparkle. Run the Waterford through
the dishwasher. If it chips, oh well.

There is very little demand for jasperware. I just donated a load of Jasperware to the thrift shop but kept 4 plates to use. The Waterford probably has a bit more value.

+1 When my mom downsized she passed on a set of glasses that she'd rarely used, a wedding present in 1968. They were simple column beverage classes with a contemporary dots design. She never used them because they weren't supposed to go in the dishwasher. We are enjoying them and just put them in the dishwasher. yes, the design is wearing off but I don't care. I looked at those glasses in her china cabinet for years!